Local History:
History of City Hall (10)
Now that the site was finally chosen the next question became one of design. Everyone was agreed, finally, that the old city hall had to go but seemed equally insistent that parts of it should be kept to be incorporated into the new hall. One suggestion was to incorporate the old city hall clock into the design. But the most bizarre suggestion came from Mayor Jackson. He wanted the old city council chamber moved lock, stock and barrel into the new city hall. This led to a spirited exchange between His Worship and the city architect Mr. Roscoe. "All I want from you," said the mayor, "is whether it's feasible. Never mind whether it's wise."
Mr. Roscoe said it was feasible. But he would not do it.
"For 67 years this has been our council chamber," said the mayor. "It has impressed everyone. For sentiment, history, tradition, I would like to see it moved." The mayor continued to say that he would like to have the same type curtains, the gallery brass rail, and the woodwork moved intact.
"It's not impossible," said Roscoe. "But I wouldn't do it. It's not shaped right. Our technical knowledge has advanced just like science and chemistry..."
"Fiddle-de-diddle," snorted the Mayor. "I've heard that before ... the two things are not comparable."..."As a link with the past," said the mayor, "I think we should move the council chamber. It's perfect."
Mr. Roscoe disagreed. "It's not perfect," said the architect. He elaborated, saying that the woodwork was hard to clean, the pillar-supports for the gallery were unsafe, and the windows would not fit his concept of the new city hall.
"Now we will get modern," groaned the mayor, passing a hand over his brow.
"Esthetics is only part of architecture," said Mr. Roscoe.
"Maybe it should be more," rejoined the mayor.
"Speaking of dollars," said the architect.
"There are a heck of a lot of things more important than dollars," said the mayor.
"No good modern architect would do it," said Mr. Roscoe.
"Then maybe we should get an architect who is not good and modern and who would do it," said the Mayor.
A massive fall of plaster in the council chamber a few weeks later seemed to bear out the architect's arguments. The proposal was abandoned, albeit reluctantly, by the mayor.
The site was now fixed. The design was now chosen. And then the subject of the next great debate raised its ugly head - Cherokee white marble versus Queenston limestone. The architects recommended the marble so the city hall committee took a weekend jaunt to New York to view some samples of buildings covered with this material. This visit was called "a preposterous waste of taxpayer's money" by Alderman John Munro, "it is absurd, as far as I am concerned...to appoint professional men, to hear their advice, to discuss that advice, and then to spend taxpayer's money in a wasteful journey to view the very stone that these same professional men say we should use in our new city hall."
Shortly after this it was proposed that they should be using Queenston limestone instead.
"This is a city hall for Canadians, to be paid for by Canadians, and we can have stone mined by Canadians, and cut by Canadians, and then put in place by Canadians," said Controller McCoy. "My mind is made up - it's too bad about the colour."
Board of Control then voted 3-2 for limestone and took their recommendation to City Council, which voted 13-6 for marble.
And the marble had it.
Councillors thought affairs were getting out of hand. Alderman Ramsey Evans stated that "The whole thing is a squalid nuisance...If the council hasn't got the courage to dissolve the city hall committee, it ought, out of decency, to commit suicide."
And Alderman Cline reminded them of another potential area of controversy.
"Despite the abundance of trees in this country ... we have been told that the hardwood required for interior panelling can only come from the United States."
Other recommendations were slightly less likely to be controversial.
It was suggested that the pictures of past mayors be hung in the main lobby, that there should be a shower provided in the mayor's bathroom and that there should be a separate room near the City Clerkâs department for the issuing of marriage licenses. "Marriage is a personal thing," murmured Mrs. Pritchard. Alderman Morison agreed that it was disturbing to be handed a dog license by mistake.
"Oh, the new city hall is going to be gorgeous - there is no doubt about that! It's probably going to be the finest municipal edifice in the British Commonwealth of Nations. All the departments are going to have all the space they need, projected into 25 years. And as people drive down Main Street, they'll gasp and say, "What a city hall!" There'll be- automatic window cleaners, air conditioning, facilities for music, and a public address system so that the Mayor can summon a sanitary corporal..."
On this enthusiastic note they started tearing down the houses on the city hall site in June of 1958 to start the $9,400,000.00 project. They turned the first sod at the site on July 2, 1958. Mayor Jackson drove the steam shovel and Joseph Pigott took home movies.
